New DelhiAjinkya Rahane and Ishant Sharma could be dropped from their annual central contracts with the list being finalized for the 2022-23 season during the Apex Council meeting of the Board of Cricket in India (BCCI) on December 21, while Shubman Gill and Suryakumar Yadav may get promoted. Hardik Pandya, being touted as a future T20 captain, is likely to get promoted from Group C to Group B.
12 issues are listed in the agenda of this meeting. This meeting will be conducted through video conferencing. The review of the Indian team’s performance in the T20 World Cup and Bangladesh ODIs is not part of the agenda, but non-listed issues may be taken up for discussion if the Speaker deems it necessary.
In this meeting, the Apex Council will also confirm the one-time payment for V Jayadevan. Jayadevan’s system made ready (VJD) is used in rain-affected domestic limited overs matches. whose rain-rule formula has been used in domestic white-ball games for over a decade. The International Cricket Council (ICC) uses the Duckworth–Lewis–Stern method (DLS) while the VJD is used for the Mushtaq Ali T20, Vijay Hazare Trophy and the erstwhile Deodhar Trophy and Challenger Trophy.
The main point of the meeting is to discuss the ‘retainership contract’ for the senior men’s and women’s teams. Former vice-captain Rahane and fast bowler Ishant, who are almost out of contention for a place in the Indian team, are almost certain to be out of the list. Wicket-keeper batsman Wriddhiman Saha will also be left out of the list after he was told at the beginning of the year that he would not be selected for India again.
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The BCCI gives central contracts to players in four categories, which include A+ (Rs 7 crore per annum), Group A (Rs 5 crore per annum), Group B (Rs 3 crore per annum), and Group C (Rs 1 crore per annum). The BCCI determines the classification of players in this contract by looking at the international performance of the players and many other parameters. This also includes consulting the national selectors. A+ and A are categories where players have either played regularly in all formats or are at least assured of a place in the Test team.
A cricketer has to play at least two formats to qualify for Group B, while Group C is mainly for players playing only one format. One needs to play a specific number of international matches (per format) to make it to the list. Promotion, however, is performance-based and takes into account ICC rankings.
A BCCI official said on the condition of anonymity, “Suryakumar is in Group C but on the basis of his performance in the last one year, he deserves a promotion, if not Group A, then at least Group B. He is the top batsman in the current ICC T20 International rankings and is also a contender for a place in the A team. Gill now plays regularly in the two formats and would be hoping for promotion from Group C to Group B. A batsman like Ishan Kishan has also played many matches in both limited overs international formats in the recent past. He is almost sure to find a place in this list.
Pandya was demoted to Group C in the previous list as he did not play much cricket that season due to injury. He is now a contender to captain the T20 team and could make it to Group A or B in the upcoming list. In this meeting, the BCCI will also discuss the status of its two main jersey sponsors, edu-tech company Byju’s and kit sponsors MPL. In this, infrastructure sub-committee will also be constituted and upgradation of five sites will also be discussed. The appointment of consultancy firm Grant Thornton is also on the agenda.